A preliminary assessment of mercury, methylmercury and other potentially toxic elements in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) from the Almadén mining district.

The food chain of the Valdezogues River system is at considerable risk due to the presence of mercury in the environment and to intense bioaccumulation and biomagnification processes in some fish species, particularly in piscivorous. Moreover, the presence of mercury in fish is a reliable indicator of the presence of its most toxic form, methylmercury. Of interest is that selenium, when present together with mercury in food, represents a significant decrease in the risks related to the ingestion of methylmercury.

Thermal desorption technique to speciate mercury in carbonate, silicate, and organic-rich soils.

Thermal desorption is a well-assessed technique to speciate mercury (Hg) in soils and sediments. However, the effects related to the different matrices are still not properly assessed. In this study, thermal desorption was applied to Hg-free calcite mixed with Hg standard and soils rich in carbonate and silicate minerals, as well as organic matter.

Biogeochemical prospecting of metallic critical raw materials: soil to plant transfer in SW Ciudad Real Province, Spain.

The soil-plant transfer of trace elements is a complex system in which many factors are involved such as the availability and bioavailability of elements in the soil, climate, pedological parameters, and the essential or toxic character of the elements. The present study proposes the evaluation of the use of multielement contents in vascular plants for prospecting ore deposits of trace elements of strategic interest for Europe. To accomplish this general goal, a study of the soil-plant transfer of major and trace elements using Quercus ilex as a study plant has been developed in the context of two geological domains with very different characteristics in geological terms and in the presence of ore deposits: the Almadén syncline for Hg and the Guadalmez syncline for Sb.

Mobility of antimony in contrasting surface environments of a mine site: influence of redox conditions and microbial communities.

Microbial processes can influence the complex geochemical behaviour of the toxic metalloid antimony (Sb) in mining environments. The present study is aimed to evaluate the influence of microbial communities on the mobility of Sb from solid phases to water in different compartments and redox conditions of a mining site in southwest (SW) Spain. Samples of surface materials presenting high Sb concentrations, from two weathered mining waste dumps, and an aquatic sediment were incubated in slurries comparing oxic and anoxic conditions.

Mercury distribution in plants and soils from the former mining area of Abbadia San Salvatore (Tuscany, Central Italy).

The distribution of heavy metals in plants (Castanea sativa, Sambucus nigra, Verbascum thapsus, Popolus spp., Salix spp., Acer pseudoplatanus, Robinia pseudoacacia) growing in soils from active and abandoned mining areas is of scientific significance as it allows to recognize their ability to survive in a hostile environment and provide useful indications for phytoremediation operations.